DS NPC, Lore
Oscar, Knight of Astora A knight on pilgrimage to ring the Bells of Awakening. He is found on his last legs within the Undead Asylum, but not before telling you of his quest and begging you to make his mission your own. Originally, Oscar was meant to survive his assault at the Asylum, and would meet the player again at several areas, working together to traverse the challenges Oscar could not beat himself. Eventually, the two would part ways, where after the player would be given the option to either join up with Kingseeker Frampt to relight the primal bonfire, or side with Darkstalker Kaathe and usher in an Age of Dark. Whatever option you pick, Oscar would have chosen the other, forcing a fight between the two of you, and forcing you to kill Oscar to continue. He's unnamed within the game itself and in the Elite Knight armor set and Family Crest Shield descriptions. The name he is given in all the meta information is taken from cut subtitle text found within the game data files. Crestfallen Warrior/Heartbroken Soldier A brooding warrior who resides at the Firelink Shrine, slowly waiting to hollow out after losing the courage to face the various enemies in Lordran. He is the first NPC you meet there, and gives you directions for ringing the two Bells of Awakening. So very much. It's hard to find a dialogue where he is not mocking you, the other Firelink visitors, or even his own fate. Good lord, is he ever. The guy is apathetic to a fault, complaining about anyone and everyone who passes through Firelink Shrine. He finally gets fed up when Frampt arrives, leaving to "do something about" Frampt's apparent horrible breath. It's implied that he tried to fight Frampt and got his shit kicked in; he turns up hollowed and insane outside New Londo. If the player kills him in Firelink Shrine, the Crestfallen Warrior compliments him and says that he thinks you've done him a favor. Anastacia of Astora The Fire Keeper of the Firelink Shrine. A martyr from an unnamed village in Astora, she was treated as a witch by the villagers, eventually leading to her tongue being cut out and either her legs broken or feet severed to prevent her from escaping from her fate. Just like the Darkmoon Knightess and the Daughter of Chaos, underneath her human appearance lies the accumulated masses of humanity poured into the bonfire. During the middle of your journey, Lautrec will make his move and kill Anastacia for her Fire Keeper Soul, making the bonfire unusable until you track the knight down and defeat him in Anor Londo, after which you can revive Anastacia back at Firelink Shrine. Oswald of Carim A mysterious pardoner and bishop of Velka, Goddess of Sin and Justice, found after ringing the first Bell of Awakening. While he does not belong to a joinable Covenant, he serves two functions: 1) allowing the player to leave their current Covenant without penalties; and 2) to pardon the player's sins, resetting any NPC you angered to become docile again and remove your name from the Book of the Guilty. While this isn't immediately obvious, the description of the sword he uses (Velka's Rapier) is a pretty good indication of what he's capable of. (Attacking him also confirms this, but it isn't advisable, should you accidentally attack another NPC...) According to the official Dark Souls art book Oswald used to be a Black Knight. Very little is known about Oswald of Carim, other than the fact that he used to be a Black Knight. Siegmeyer of Catarina A knight from Catarina with no sense of self-preservation, who decided to venture to Lordran on a whim for one last adventure. A very probable reason for his eventual Hollowing is that the Chosen Undead and his daughter completely show him up as an adventurer time and time again, causing him to lose faith in his own abilities. Save Seigmeyer from the Chaos Eaters, he Hollows in Ash Lake and has to be mercy killed by his daughter. Let Seigmeyer fight the Chaos Eaters, and he'll sustain his honor—but die horribly and alone, surrounded only by voracious monsters. He will plunge himself into a pit of Chaos Eaters, in order to distract them so that you may slip past and get to safety. You can fight beside him to ensure his survival if you want. Although this means he'll meet a much sadder end later, going Hollow and being put down by his own daughter instead of dying honourably and heroically as himself. Alternatively, you can spare him from doing so by doing that yourself and killing all the Chaos Eaters before talking to him, this will net you the Speckled Stoneplate Ring instead of a Titanite Slab, but he will survive. He's a very well-meaning and jovial man, his love for adventure can be downright adorable, and he is in fact a mighty fighter in his own right, but his biggest flaw is that despite his eagerness to go on grand quests across Lordran, he lacks the preparation, the insight, and to be perfectly blunt, the skill to progress with his own wits. Sieglinde of Catarina Daughter of Siegmeyer of Catarina. She searches diligently for her father with the player's assistance. One of the few female NPCs that are armed and dangerous. Travels through Lordran just like yourself, her father, and numerous others but with one key difference: She's not undead. Everyone else journeys with the knowledge that they at least will be resurrected at their previous bonfire, but Sieglinde went through her entire mission knowing that a single death would be the end of her. She is forced to kill Siegmeyer after he turns Hollow. Knight Lautrec of Carim / Knight Lautrec the Embraced / Knight Lautrec the Guilty A knight from the kingdom of Carim, a land of religious justice, and a follower of the Goddess Fina. Wears one of the fancier suits of armor, with additional symbolism alluding to his devotion of the goddess Fina. You can obtain the set from a corpse in the upper floor of Ornstein and Smough's boss room, but only after invading and killing Lautrec as revenge for Anastacia. Lautrec's item descriptions show that, in spite of his monstrous nature, he wears armor symbolizing the loving embrace of his goddess, Fina. Lautrec may be a cold-hearted sadistic killer, but Patches gives him the creeps (or so he says), and he warns the player to stay away from him. This is played with, because Patches warns the same thing about Lautrec. Which one of the two is more evil is up for debate, but since Patches retires as a merchant and Lautrec dies by the player's hands it doesn't matter anyway. He'll often throw a mirthless laughter when spoken to. Attentive players will notice that he planned his actions at Firelink and Anor Londo from the very start. What purpose did he do it all for? It's never said in any fashion whatsoever. And you'll never find out, because you either hunt him down and kill him, or don't bother, never hearing from him again. Considers the love of the Goddess Fina all that he needs, leading to his sociopathic behavior. Although how much of a loner he really is can be questioned. When he is fought in Anor Londo, he has two unidentified, silent cohorts who aid him in battle. His dialogue and the situation suggest that he might have some ulterior motive for stealing Anastacia's soul, and has been herding people into his world and killing them for some unexplained purpose. The two men are apparently in league with this scheme. One of his monikers, Lautrec the Embraced, becomes significant once you observe that his golden armor has what appears to be arms wrapped around it, symbolizing the goddess Fina's protection over the wearer as well as Lautrec's own devotion to said goddess. Never once is he actually dishonest towards the Player. He does give you a reward after you free him and return to Firelink Shrine, plus he straight out tells you that he has no more use for the maiden before you go off to ring the second bell. Ingward The Guardian of the Seal, and the last remaining of the three New Londo healer-sorcerers who long ago undertook the task of guarding the seal keeping the Four Kings and the Darkwraiths locked away, in order to pay atonement for all who were sacrificed when they sealed away the darkness. He will give the Chosen Undead the Key to the Seal after he/she obtains the Lordvessel, and is the only character in the game with the ability to cure curses without the use of a Purging Stone. He's very well aware of the costly sacrifice made to seal the Darkwraiths and the Four Kings, and the least he can do is watch over New Londo Ruins until someone strong enough to brave the Abyss comes. Just from his voice you can tell that he's a very old, but nonetheless selfless individual. He's the only one of the sealers who remained in New Londo. Yulva left to help the infected people of Blighttown with her Remedy sorcery. The unnamed third sealer's fate is unknown, but either he or someone in his robes, without the hood, is seen assisting Lautrec in Anor Londo. Not only does he wear a hood, but he also wears a mask. Witch Beatrice An enigmatic young witch available as a phantom summon against two bosses. Her assistance in the first battle practically fights the boss for you, but she's a borderline liability in the second. During your initial travels, you just can't seem to find her, though... She's devastatingly powerful with her magic, which makes fighting both the Moonlight Butterfly massively easier, and she can at least be a distraction for the Four Kings. That probably should've been a sign to her that taking on the Kings by her lonesome was a terrible idea. A corpse carrying her robe set and catalyst can be found outside the shortcut between the Valley of Drakes and New Londo Ruins after she's been summoned against the Four Kings. It's made clear by the items' description that she braved the Abyss, but did not live to tell the tale. Her magic is nothing to be sneezed at in a ranged battle (she'll take out the Moonlight Butterfly by herself), but in an up-close melee fight - such as the Four Kings' - she's utterly useless. She's described as a rogue witch who doesn't hail from one of the Dragon Schools in Vinheim, yet her sorceries are just as powerful. She can blow away the Moonlight Butterfly despite it having comparatively high resistance to Magic Damage. Black Iron Knight Tarkus A fearsome knight of Berenike clad in Black Iron armor. He can be summoned to help in the fight against the Iron Golem atop Sen's Fortress. Most knights of Berenike are ~9 feet tall. Tarkus is the same height as the player, and his armor is even heavier than the other knights' Steel sets. Provided the A.I. is having a good day, he can easily solo the Iron Golem, often by pushing it off the boss arena. As strong and tough as he is, it's implied that his heavy armor caused him to fall from the rafters to his death. The Crestfallen Merchant strongly implies that Tarkus, along with other known Undeads like Logan, attempted to take on Anor Londo, only to fail utterly. True enough, Tarkus' gear can be found discarded near the entrance to the Painted World, implying that he either fell to his death or met his end at the hands of the many agile guardians. Of course Tarkus can basically solo the Iron Golem for you. According to his lore, he defeated it solo in his own world, the only other hero to do so; that's why he carved his summon sign there, to aid others who came after him. The Knights of Berenike were stoic giants who wielded extremely heavy weapons and armor. Tarkus is presumably a knight of the same order, although he is much smaller than the other Hollow Berenike knights encountered throughout the game. It is hinted that he was the one who shattered the glass in the painting hall of Anor Londo, paving the way for the player character as the rotating bridge that would normally grant access to the main cathedral is initially inaccessible. Sir Arstor The Earl of Carim. He is responsible for the creation of many items and weapons in the game and as far as anyone can tell, no price is too high for him if it will mean progress. Possibly, given he holds the title of Earl in his nation and performed untold experiments to create the Bite rings. He gets mentioned a lot in a number of item descriptions, but otherwise makes no known appearance. His Weapon of Choice, as seen in Dark Souls III. Apparently, he was quite fond of the Impaled with Extreme Prejudice trope. He’s the one credited for creating the Purging Stones and Bite rings. It’s just best not to think about what needed to be done to make them. It's never stated precisely what he did to create the bite rings, but all the player needs to know that it was apparently unspeakably evil. Possibly. All of the atrocities he has implicitly committed were done for a purpose and there’s little argument with how useful the results are. Velka The Goddess of Sin. It is her duty to oversee those who have sinned and administer the proper punishment. Several of her spells from Dark Souls reappear in Dark Souls III as spells of the Sable Church of Londor, which is rather unambiguously evil. While Velka is considered a darker character, she's often portrayed in a positive light for the most part. Linked to Occult enchantments (the kind that are specifically designed to destroy gods and divine servants). Most of her usable items are Intelligence-linked and found in a place with a lot of crows and crow-like beings. Even the gods fear her, for not even they are above her judgment. Velka has a heavy association with Dark, but nothing suggest that she's evil. If anything, she's a force of divine judgement upon wrongdoers as well as forgiveness to those who open themselves up to her. She gets name-dropped a lot, but she doesn’t make any physical appearances as far as we can see, This example contains a YMMV entry. It should be moved to the YMMV tab.leading fans to make countless speculations about her true identity. Odd Job Gods: She's the goddess of sin — recording it, weighing it and righting it; be that, apparently, through retribution or atonement. At a price. Allfather Lloyd The uncle to Gwyn and the patron deity of the Way of White. Not much is known about him, and in Dark Souls III he is proclaimed a false god, and every mention of him is completely erased. Lloyd gets mentioned a lot in the item descriptions, but doesn't make a physical appearance in the series at all. Lloyd's Talismans are used by the clerics to stop the Undead from using Estus. The clerics of Carim proclaimed him a fraud, and his worship was eventually stopped and forgotten.